Different Advice
by Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
Summary: After the failed serenade to Weiss, Jaune is quite in need of advice. However, advice first comes from the most unlikely person ever, and then from his best friend Ren - who isn't very knowledgeable in the facts of romance. Will he be able to understand what the hell they are trying to tell him?


**_Here I am with a different take-on of Jaune's serenade, and what would've happened had he gone for a little stroll after his failure! The notes on Jaune's character are basically jabs at canon, but whatever, it's mainly just fun._**

As the door slammed closed, Jaune Arc sighed.

Yet another failed attempt at asking Weiss out, that had ended up in utter humiliation. Was he really _that_ bad at flirting? …he didn't really want to know the answer to that question. He _knew_ he was bad, there was no need to hammer that nail in. The rest of Team RWBY may have found his attempts 'adorkable', as Yang called it, but adorkable didn't mean good. Heck, he was pretty sure that was just another way of saying ridiculous.

He glanced down at the guitar he still held in his hands and sighed. Well, that had been pretty much the stupidest idea he'd had in a while, entering Beacon without Aura nor training notwithstanding. He didn't even _know_ how to play a guitar, and the songs he could manage to sing were a different style altogether. They were the ones he could dance at the rhythm of, not the ones used in serenades.

_'Well, I'll just give Fox his guitar back, and forget about this whole thing,'_ he mumbled dejectedly, stepping away from the door. _'Besides, I'm pretty sure Team RWBY is about to go out. I'd just annoy them if I stick around… not like I'm really friends with any of them aside from Ruby, they would probably think I'm some sort of creepy stalker of whatever. Weiss is already vicious enough in Combat Class, I'd like not to add Blake and Yang to the list. Especially Yang.'_

After returning the guitar to the blind upperclassman, who hadn't needed eyes to feel the boy's downtrodden expression and hadn't asked any question about the serenade, Jaune began to wander Beacon, passing by the hall just in time to see Team RWBY stride out of it. Weiss didn't even glance at him, Yang and Blake offered a wave, and Ruby shouted her cheerful byes from across the hall.

He chuckled. That was adorable, his day had just gotten better, despite many students snickering at the action. Trust Ruby to do something like that, and then claim to be awkward around people. Not like he was any better, of course, he just accepted his curse and moved on.

He didn't really have anything to do for the weekend. Pyrrha was off to some advertising stuff, or rather to try and tell her agents that she did _not_ want to take any more advertising jobs, while Nora had a sugar rush.

And that also told him where Ren was.

His aimless wandering brought him to the training arena, Arena B4 if the sign on the door was to be believed. Despite his abysmal combat skills, Jaune was no stranger to the practice of punching walls in frustration or the ever-working practice of working out to ease the mind. He had no formal training, but his body showed he had worked out in his life – not a lot, but he had.

Training with some innocent and guiltless robots was slightly different from working out, namely the robots would fight back with more skill than he had, but they would stop before his Aura dropped to zero, and thus the most he'd get would be a quickly fading bruise or something.

He called his locker and changed into his combat gear, something that got him derided by the other students, who all had custom-made, fashionable, or at least cool outfits. Even Ruby, the socially awkward girl who was not into fashion had custom-made rose pins and cool clothes, and they followed her colour theme.

Jaune had no Hunter weapon, no Hunter clothes, no Hunter training, no Hunter knowledge, and no Hunter colour theme.

Hell, if someone were to actually think about it, they would be extremely surprised as to how could've that happened. A weapon wasn't all that expensive if one stuck to the basics, clothes were much cheaper, enrolling in a combat school was basically free, and Scrolls and books had tons of Hunter knowledge in them.

How could someone _not_ have all that, and yet be in Beacon?

As the training robot, just one for the moment as opposite to the forty or fifty any of his friends could easily take out, moved into the arena, Jaune sighed.

Well… his story was far more complicated than anyone knew or thought.

Jaune winced as the robot got the first hit in. And the second, one after the other. He really wasn't good at that. Well, if that failed, he could still work out later. He went for a swing, but the robot pushed forward and made him stumble, capitalizing on that by shield-bashing the boy in the face. Rolling away from the droid, Jaune barely had time to bring his shield up when the robot used some gun in its arm to shoot at him. Low calibre, slow shots. One hit his leg, and he crouched behind the shield. Of course, that had to be the wrong thing to do.

The robot charged and shield-bashed Jaune's own protection, sending him sprawled on the floor. The droid's sword came down to find its target, only for him to roll away once again. The robot's impassive face was pissing him off. He knew it was just an android, but still, getting such a beating while his opponent looked like it wasn't even trying was not good for his mood, nor for his self-esteem.

Damn, all his friends could take out _fifty_ of those damn droids easily, and he had trouble hitting one.

His shoulders slumped and he tapped his Scroll to deactivate the arena. The droid just walked back in its spot, waiting for more fights. Jaune sheathed his sword and ran a hand through his hair.

Just how was he supposed to even ever come near the level his friends were at? They were all so amazing, and he was just a nobody with an old weapon and a dream. Jaune sighed deeply.

"I see Fox was right when he said you 'hit the bottom of the barrel'," a voice spoke up from behind him, and he almost jumped out of his skin. He definitely did not scream, nope, nossir. "I apologize, it was not my intention to startle you."

Jaune turned to see Yatsuhashi Daichi, the gentle giant of Team CFVY, standing at the door. He was, shockingly enough, not in his combat outfit, but in the giant version of a Beacon uniform. Jaune almost snickered at the sight of the uniform on the man, but he reigned himself in. Pissing off someone like Yatsuhashi was not a good idea, given the freaking giant sword he wielded.

"Oh… I… It's no problem. You aren't the first and unfortunately you won't be the last," Jaune replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "W-Why are you here?"

"Fox asked me to come and check up on you," explained the upperclassman, stepping in the room and sitting down in the lotus position, gesturing for Jaune to join him on the floor. The blond shrugged to himself and plopped down next to him, legs crossed but not really meditation-like. "Despite being a man of few words, my teammate can perceive people's emotions fairly well, and he usually acts on them if they are negative. However, he was busy at the moment, and asked me to find you instead."

"Busy with what?"

"I mean no offence, but he's busy checking his guitar to make sure it is still playable," Yatsuhashi replied in such a kind voice, that Jaune couldn't even feel insulted.

"Oh. Okay."

Silence fell over them, and for a second, Jaune thought their conversation was over. Why wouldn't it be, after all? The man had checked if he was alright, and had gotten his answer. Jaune had never been particularly close to anyone of Team CFVY, he just had had the guts -or stupidity- to ask Fox for his guitar once he had been told he was the only one with a guitar in Beacon. Well… apparently, Peach too had one, but he had never seen the Professor around, so that left Fox. But still, that didn't make him friends with Team CFVY. Ruby was friends with Velvet, and he kind of knew the girl as well, but not the team. Yatsuhashi had no reason to continue speaking.

Apparently, he disagreed.

"I suppose you came here to vent your frustrations?" guessed the giant of a man, and Jaune just nodded. No point in denying the obvious, after all. "Did it work?"

The blond shrugged. "No. Being kicked into the dust isn't really a good way to vent."

Yatsuhashi nodded solemnly. "I saw your fight. It didn't seem to be going well for you."

Jaune sighed and nodded again. "No, it was going awful for me. A single one of these droids is stronger than me."

"And this is eating at you immensely," noted the other student, watching him with a keen eye. "Before you try to deny my claim, let me tell you that I am more than capable to spot a lie." Jaune just stayed silent. "That's what I thought. Why is this bothering you so much?"

"Since when being utterly trashed by a single training robot does not bother someone who's training to become a Hunter?" Jaune rhetorically asked back, looking at the floor, with a little hint of a bite in his voice. "And how did this turn into a lecture?"

"This is advice, not a lecture. I am your peer, not your teacher, although you might still learn from me," the giant replied calmly, unfazed by Jaune's tone. "As for your first question, since when should someone be bothered by losing when they are hindering themselves in almost every way they can?"

"I… I'm not _hindering_ myself," Jaune said gloomily. "That's my _actual_ level of skill…"

"No, Jaune, a civilian would do better than that unhindered," scolded the older student, making the blond just slump further down. "So tell me, why do you choose to fight hindered like that? Do you wish to prove yourself? Or do you wish to see if your friends will stay by your side even if you can't fight?"

"I told you I'm not hindering myself!" Jaune snapped back, clenching his fists. One thing was to be ridiculed, but for someone to not even _take in consideration_ the chance someone could be as weak as him… that hurt even more than the laughters and jeers he got in combat class.

"You are, though maybe not consciously so." Yatsuhashi frowned at him. "Tell me, why did you choose jeans of all things as combat gear? They are very movement-restricting, and their pockets can barely hold a Scroll. They are civilian's clothing, not Hunter's."

"I didn't have enough money to get some custom-made stuff," mumbled the boy. "Actually, I live off Beacon's mess since I literally have fifty or so Lien all in all. I could barely buy a single Dust crystal with that."

Yatsuhashi leaned slightly back, an apologetic expression on his face. "I am sorry, I did not know. However, why don't you request for Beacon to make some, or to order some? With your student's ID, you can purchase a limited amount of specific merchandise, including Hunter clothing, weapon and weapon maintenance tools, and Dust."

There was a long silence at that. And then… "I never thought to check," admitted the blond, flushing in shame. _'I'm so stupid…'_

"It is not something most first year students are aware of. Usually, they are told during the second or third year, so please keep this a secret." The two shared a brief chuckle at the not-so-joke joke. "However, my statement still stands. Why are you wearing armour?"

"Uhhh… to protect myself?" offered Jaune, looking at him as if he had just grown a second head.

Yatsuhashi shook his head. "Jaune, armour is worn by a strong, resistant fighter. The 'tank' of the group, as Coco calls it. Like me. I am capable of moving fast, but in all the fights you've seen me fighting, have you noticed how little I moved if compared to most unarmoured students here?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, you barely move if it's not necessary. But I _am_ the tank, I'm no good for anything else."

"You are wrong. The Hunter makes the weapon, not the other way around. You cannot shape your fighting style to what weapons you use, but you have to choose your weapon in order to complement your fighting style." Yatsuhashi picked up Crocea Mors from the ground and examined it. "While old, this weapon is still in top condition. Had you been a tank, this would've been the perfect weapon for you. Strong, sturdy, and near unbreakable. As your armour, if I were to guess."

"Well, Crocea Mors is my family's heirloom, it's said to be indestructible," shrugged Jaune, not seeing his point. "Don't know if it's true, but it always held when I tried it."

Yatsuhashi nodded. "However, you are not a tank. You do not know how to bear a hit, and while you are strong, you do not know how to use that strength with a weapon. Maybe one day you will become a tank, but as of now your body is not used to slow and strong." The older student looked at him. "Tell me, what kind of movement did you use the most before coming to Beacon? And I am not talking about fights, but generally."

Again, Jaune looked at him as he had grown a second head. "I… well, I danced most of my awake time, even when I didn't need to. Always went around with twirls or whatnot out of habit." That was kind of normal since he had worked most of his awake time, dancing in a nightclub or whatever that local was.

The brunette smiled at him. "Exactly. Your body is used to be light and fast, despite your raw physical strength, not to be heavy and slow. You are light, but you slow yourself down with your armour and weaponry, and thus you become a far easier target to be hit, and you have a hard time landing a strike on anyone." The giant of a man gave him back his weapon. "As well, jeans hinder your quickness and agility. And sword and shield, while being extremely useful when used correctly, need a solid stance and a certain strength. You have neither. Allow me to demonstrate, if you would."

Jaune stood up as the man got up and readied himself. "I am going to attack you. Parry it if you wish, you won't be able to dodge it. Try to use your usual fighting style."

Jaune shrugged and did as he was told, readying himself. As ready as he was, he still wasn't ready enough to tank the hit, and stumbled back, falling on his rear. As he got up, he noticed how Yatsuhashi was still on guard.

"Now, instead of tanking the hit, I want you to roll with it. Use it to spin, or to roll, or to somersault, or to pirouette, whatever you want. Just, do not take it head-on."

The punch landed again, but this time its energy was reused by the boy to pirouette to the side, and he found himself still standing at the end of the action. It had still taken out the exact same amount of Aura, but even he could see the difference.

"As I said, your body moves in a certain way, you cannot force it to act in a different way without a long and exhausting training," explained Yatsuhashi. "I suggest you to get yourself a new outfit and a new weapon. Young Ruby Rose should be able to aid you, given her prodigal cleverness when it comes to weaponry and various equipment. I also suggest you to ask your teammate Lie Ren for the clothes, as he seem to have a similar fighting style, light and fast, and he is the same gender as you. While I do not doubt Ms Belladonna would help you, she might not be as knowledgeable in male clothes."

Jaune bit his lip and nodded slowly. "Thanks. I… I probably needed that more than I have ever needed anything in my life." Glancing at the now retreating giant, Jaune couldn't help the question that came next. "Why did you help me so much though? You could've just told me to change my gear or something. You could've just left after seeing I was alright, even."

Yatsuhashi didn't smile, but the blond could've sworn to have seen amusement sparkled in his dark eyes for a second. "Because you needed it, as you said, and we are Hunters in training. If I didn't help a fellow trainee in need, how am I supposed to help everyone else once I graduate?"

"That's not the full story, is it?"

"Are you very perceptive, or are you just guessing?" the man asked back, and he received a shrug. "Mm. I see. Well, no, this isn't the full story. I met Headmaster Ozpin on my way to find you, and when he asked me what I was doing around here, I told him I was checking on you." Yatsuhashi chuckled. "I believe he already knew. The Headmaster has cameras all over the school, with the exception of dorms and bathrooms… I suppose. He asked me to give you some advice in case you needed it."

Jaune blinked. "The Headmaster asked you to give me advice?"

The older student nodded. "Indeed. Since your transcripts were false, he wanted to make sure you could still improve, as Professor Goodwitch has a habit of… forcing the students to figure out their shortcomings with witty jabs and withering glares, as he put it."

"Y-Yeah, that makes sense…" Wait a second… false transcripts? "Wait, what!? You know about my transcripts?!"

"Of course I do. I looked in Beacon's database for your transcripts out of curiosity once you befriended Velvet, and what I read did not match my assessment of you in the slightest, so I supposed you had your transcripts falsified to avoid rejection."

Jaune's whole body turned cold. His friends knew, and he knew they wouldn't betray him, but someone who barely interacted with him like Yatsuhashi?

"Worry not, you have passed Initiation. That is the one and only test you have to pass to enrol in Beacon. If you are willing to go through that test, unskilled or not, no one can say anything," explained the larger boy. "And you passed, so congratulations."

The boy nodded at him, and then left the training room.

Jaune remained there, stumped.

"Wait, does that mean I let Cardin blackmail me for nothing?"

/-/

_Knock knock_. _Knock_. _Knock knock_.

The unique way of knocking immediately gave away who was behind the door. Ruby placed her comic down and hopped off her bed, but Weiss was faster, or maybe just closer to the door.

Opening it with a suffering sigh, she glared balefully at one Jaune Arc, standing awkwardly there as if not sure whether he had gotten the right room or not. Which was silly since they lived one across the other. Yet again, that was Jaune, who had managed to lock himself out of his own dorm.

"What do you want, Arc?" Weiss barely kept the growl out of her voice, earning a disapproving glare from all her three teammates.

"Uh, I… I-Is Ruby here?" stammered the boy, peering straight over Weiss's head to peek in the room. "I… uh… Hey Ruby. Can we talk real quick?"

"Sure!" Ruby pushed the still standing Weiss out of the day and dragged Jaune into the room. "What's it about?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he recounted the events of what had happened earlier. Weiss seemed indignant that Beacon didn't even check someone's transcripts before flinging them off a cliff, while Blake and Yang were mainly just amused by her outrage. Ruby, however, was another story altogether. As soon as he got to Yatsuhashi's advice of asking her for new weapons, the petite Huntress began to vibrate with energy, shaking in her chair so fast a few rose petals fell off her form.

"Oh boy, now you've done it…" groaned Yang, fully well knowing of her little sister's obsession with weapons. "It was nice knowing you, Vomit Boy."

A second later, both leaders were gone in a shower of white and red rose petals.

/-/

Jaune bit his lip as he stared at his teammate Ren, who just so happened to be still clad in only a towel due to the fact his leader had caught him just out of the shower.

"Repeat your question," sighed Ren, abandoning any hope of their leader having been joking.

"I need advice. Love advice. I know you all think I have no chances with Weiss, but I want to hear why," Jaune obliged his request without batting an eyelid, used to Ren's lethargy. "Why do I have no chances with Weiss?"

"Jaune, she just does not like you, as simple as that is," replied the ninja, staring directly in Jaune's blue lakes. "She's cold and composed while you are warm and carefree. She's strict and perfectionist where you are lax. She has her deeply ingrained impression of you, and nothing is going to change that. It took her a lecture from Port for her to give Ruby a chance, and they still bicker a lot, do you really think she'd give _you_ a chance?"

"But she gave Blake a chance, and Blake's a former member of the terrorist organization that executed many of her father's company and basically ruined her whole life," Jaune pointed out immediately. "I mean, if she can forgive Blake, I'm pretty sure she can forgive me."

"No, Jaune, you are seeing it the wrong way. She is just plain annoyed at you for everything you do, she will give you a chance only when you'll finally stop asking her out, because that's how she wants it to be. Besides, she likes Neptune." Ren sighed, happy to know he had gotten his point across to the hardheaded boy near him.

"So… if I become more like Neptune, she'll like me?" asked Jaune, tilting his head to the side. Ren briefly wondered whether Jaune had taught Ruby to do that, or if it had been the other way around. The head-tilting seemed to be the two leader's get-go confused expression.

"What? No!"

"But you said she likes Neptune, so if I become more like Neptune, she might give me a chance," Jaune shot back triumphantly. "I just need to become cooler, more nerd -or intellectual, whatever-, more suave, more confident… well, more _not-me_!"

"Jaune-"

"That's not a good idea, Jaune-Jaune." Nora's quiet and almost sad voice stopped them both and made them turn. Her headphones were down, and she had brought her legs up to her chest, hugging them lightly as she stared at Jaune with sad eyes. "You shouldn't change yourself like that."

"But why?" asked Jaune. "Maybe then Weiss will finally at least look at me as something more than something stuck to the sole of her shoe!"

"And what about us?" Seeing her question had not been understood, Nora bit her lip and looked away. "Jaune, what about us? Your friends? What if we _don't_ want you to change? Is she really worth all of that?"

"Nora… what do you mean?" Jaune wasn't even mad she had been eavesdropping. Her downtrodden voice was too _not-Nora_ to just get angry at something as petty as listening to their bro conversation.

"If you change who says what'll happen to our friendship. I want to have you as my friend, Jaune. But I don't like Neptune, if you become like Neptune, who says if we'll remain friends?" Nora began to slightly rock back and forth on her bed as if to lull herself. "What about Ruby, or Pyrrha, or Ren? Do we want a cool, intellectual ladies' man, or do we want our dorky Fearless Leader?"

Jaune looked at Ren, but the black-haired boy had only eyes for Nora, and refused to meet his gaze.

Which one did they want? The answer was easy.

Neptune was cool, and friendly enough. He wasn't a bad person by any mean, but he wasn't the kind of person Jaune would often hang out with, nor would Jaune's friends. Neptune was chill, he was fine, but just… he was too different from Jaune to really _click_.

So his friends wanted Jaune, the dorky lovable idiot.

He bit down a groan. He didn't _want_ to be the lovable idiot, but it was just how he was and how he acted, he couldn't help it. To make things worse, his friends liked him despite his stupidity, so he couldn't even say that they liked him _because_ he was the lovable _idiot_, but only because he was lovable.

His friends didn't mind him being so weak, so unskilled, so ignorant, and so on and on. Weiss definitely would if he were to try and ask her out once again. She would expect him to be skilled, though no more so than her, and knowledgeable. She would expect him to treat her with respect, and while he wasn't rude to his friends, he wasn't formal with them either.

"Yatsuhashi, of Team CFVY, told me a Hunter makes their weapon, not the other way around. Is it something similar with friends too?" asked Jaune, looking at Nora, who was apparently the wise one at the moment. "Like… what you are makes friends, you don't choose them?"

"Not exactly," Ren pointed out, breaking out of his silence. "But making friends by forcing yourself to be someone else only brings you pain, because they won't be friends with _you_, but with your mask. Now, is Weiss so important that you'd live as a mask rather than just get over her?"

Jaune lowered his eyes. He had a crush on Weiss, but he wasn't stupid enough to think it was the love of his life or whatever. He could live without her. Honestly, now that he thought of it, it was clear he was happy when he _wasn't_ with Weiss. He appreciated her company, sure, but his own seemed to make her colder, so maybe it just wasn't worth it…

"You just don't click. You're like air and water, two completely different elements, neither inherently bad per se, but just not compatible," Ren completed his thought process. "How you fell for her in the first place, I will never understand. She did nothing but insult you all along."

"She called me cute back before Initiation," admitted Jaune, not impressing the boy in the slightest. "I haven't had many social interactions outside family before coming to Beacon, so being called cute by a pretty girl… well, I know it sounds stupid, but it was nice."

Ren sighed. "Jaune, she was being sarcastic. That was an insult."

Jaune slumped.

"You never told us much about what you did before coming to Beacon. Was your family so isolated you never saw people outside your family?"

"Not really, I was just very very busy working so I didn't really make friends," Jaune shrugged a shoulder. "I worked as dancer in a local club or something. I danced most of my awake time. When I wasn't dancing, I was working as a waiter, and when I wasn't doing that, I was either sleeping or eating. Didn't really get the chance to talk much with people."

Ren's eyebrows rose. "Why work so much?"

Jaune chuckled. "Heh, my family is made of ten people, Ren, without counting cousins and extra. I'm the youngest. We all had to work, and every time someone of us became seventeen, we'd stop working and started working toward our dream, with the rest of the family supporting us financially. My big sister Saphron is the oldest, she's a Huntress too, and she too got in with fake transcripts. Heh, must be in the family…"

"That explains a bunch of things…" mumbled Nora, winking at Ren while swirling a finger near her temple. Ren smirked.

"…and now it's my turn, but since my family still doesn't have lots of money, I couldn't just afford to buy all that stuff you guys have. I mean, seriously, a weapon like yours can cost from tens to hundreds _thousands_ Lien! And then there's the clothing! My family couldn't afford all of that, two of my sisters are still being financially supported. If I _need_ money they'll send me, but we can't waste Lien on stuff like that," Jaune finished his rant and took a long breath. "Okay, I'm calm now."

Ren nodded knowingly. "Don't worry, even if you aren't the best with people, this does not mean people won't like you. Just… the only advice I can give you, is to fall in love with a friend, not a stranger. Weiss is a stranger at the current moment, first you'd have to make her a friend, and if you continue to court her, that will never happen."

Jaune nodded glumly. "Yeah… thanks Ren. I owe you one."

"It's no problem at all, Jaune, but remember: people like you more than you think. Why, it is possible that even _your closest friend_ might have _romantic_ feelings for you," Ren finished with another knowing smile that had Nora roll her eyes.

Jaune blinked. "Uh… okay… thanks, I guess."

"No problem."

/-/

Roses were red, violets were blue, and Jaune was bored.

The dance per se had been cleverly organized, especially considering _Yang_ had been among the organizers. The girl had a nice sense of fashion and beauty, but she did not have the proper calm and patience to plan an event as big as the Vytal Festival Beacon Dance. Fortunately, all turned out just fine, and in the end, the dance was a success.

Still, Jaune was bored.

Ren and Nora were off on their own, _obviously_. Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen, but just as naturally she had to be with her date. No way she hadn't gotten one, she was the kind of girl guys would kill to be with. Not him though, he wouldn't kill, that seemed a bit extreme. He wasn't feeling like joining Yang, as he knew what kind of party Yang liked to have, the 'fun' type as she put it, and Blake and Sun were dancing together – how Blake had changed her mind about the dance, he still couldn't fathom. The girl had been all but obsessed with Torchwick and the White fang up until the day before. One would think Torchwick was her boyfriend with all the time she spent thinking about him. Only her sketches of Torchwick being skewered by Gambol Shroud told the true story, as well as her mood.

Weiss… he'd rather not even think about her. Ren was the wise one of the group, so if he said Jaune should steer clear of the girl for a while, so be it. He didn't know why she was alone, but maybe Neptune had just gone to fetch drinks for the two of them. It sounded like something he'd do, and that was fine, only a jerk would refuse to do something so simple.

And that left staying with Ruby, both sipping their drinks on a side of the ballroom and looking at all the people dancing.

"I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too."

"Yep." She audibly popped the 'p', drawing on the word for a second longer than necessary.

Jaune didn't mind it, though. They were basically the only students who seemed not to be having fun. At least the others had sat down and begun to chat. "To the socially awkward," he stated flatly, offering his glass for Ruby to clink her own against. She giggled as she did just so.

Yep, two awkward dolts through and thorough.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," she spoke up after a second, looking at the girl who was, unsuccessfully, trying to straighten a white flower.

Jaune shrugged. "Meh, it's fine. I got some wisdom gifted to me by Ren. Just trying to stay away from her for the time being."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he said we aren't compatible, and honestly, now that I'm looking at it with an outsider's perspective, I can actually see what he means." Jaune shrugged and sipped his drink. "Besides, she likes Neptune, and I'm not Neptune."

"Well, at least you wouldn't have just shot her down like he did…" mumbled the girl, looking sadly at her partner.

Jaune choked on his punch. "Wait, what? Last time I saw them he was flirting with her, why shooting her down?"

"No idea. Weiss didn't tell us much."

Jaune glanced at the blue-haired boy. "Hold my punch," he stated, handing it to her.

/-/

"…someone who just saw me for me." Her piece said, Pyrrha turned to walk away, but a grip on her wrist stopped her, and when she turned, she found herself face-to-face with a very confused Jaune Arc. "J-Jaune?"

"Then why didn't you ask someone?" inquired the boy, tilting his head to the side in a way that just made Pyrrha want to coo. "I mean, I get the old tradition of having the boy ask the girl, but if you so wanted a date, you could've just gone and asked someone. Why didn't you?"

"I…" Pyrrha bit her lip and looked away. "I had someone in mind but… he's not interested. Busy with another girl."

"Oh. And out of the whole school, there was only one person you were interested in?" asked Jaune, scratching the back of his head and releasing her hand. "Only one?"

"W-Well, I just like that person and I never really looked for someone else!" Pyrrha hurried to clarify as soon as she realized her words had made it sound like she had unreachable standards.

"Oh, so like me with Weiss!" exclaimed Jaune, snapping his fingers. Speak of the devil and he shall appear is the saying, and as if summoned by his words, Neptune Vasilias arrived on the balcony. "Oh, hey Neptune! Stay there, gotta finish this talk with Pyrrha then we have to talk!"

Pyrrha stepped back. "Oh, don't worry, I'll leave you two to talk. I was getting bored with the dance anyway." Before he could reply, she had already slipped away and out of the balcony.

With a long-suffering sigh, he turned to Neptune, his initial target. "Hey."

"Hey, uh, Jaune right?"

_'Wow, he doesn't even remember my name, I really left an impression,'_ Jaune noticed idly. "Yeah."

"This party's pretty lame, uh? I mean, ballroom dancing?" The blue-haired boy scoffed to get his point across.

Well, he wasn't wrong. Jaune himself didn't really like ballroom dancing, his dances were far more dynamic, and they included moving over a lot of space. Doing that uncoordinatedly would only result in a giant mess. "Yeah…"

"Cute girls though, huh?"

Jaune felt a vein twitch in his forehead. Was that how being cool was? Asking random questions out of the blue? Of _course_ the girls were cute, Jaune had yet to see a single Huntress who wasn't a supermodel in her spare time. "I guess…"

"Was that your date?" continued Neptune.

"No, that was my partner, Pyrrha. Both of us went alone. What about you? Any 'lucky girl'?"

"Well, there have been a few who asked but no, I'm alone as you are," shrugged the foreign student, joining Jaune in staring out in the sky.

"Didn't Weiss ask you?"

"I… well yeah…"

"Last time I saw you two, you seemed to be pretty determined to flirt with her," Jaune recalled their meeting in the library, and then before the dance. "And she clearly likes you. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Oh, you know, it's just… uh… I…" Jaune turned to stare at him, and the boy sighed. "We just didn't work out."

"Just yesterday or something you were the opposite of not working out."

"I can't dance, okay? Like… I _really_ can't dance," finally admitted Neptune, hanging his head in shame. "What would she say? She _obviously_ can dance, she'd want to dance, and I'd embarrass the two of us in front of everyone. I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of what she wants."

"Being alone at the dance is the opposite of what she wants," Jaune replied dryly, his patience running thin. He had a drink to return to. "Besides, you could just tell her, and she'd avoid the ballroom. Or you could distract her by talking with her. Something." He sighed. "Plus, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind it if you couldn't dance. You're not me, so you should be fine."

"Oh, yeah, I've heard that you… sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," the boy apologized. "We're cool?"

"We are… and I got over it."

"Yeah? I saw you with Weiss's team leader, Sapphire or whatever. You two together?"

Jaune laughed. "Oh dear Dust no, Ruby and I are just friends. Best friends, we met basically immediately after arriving in Beacon… actually we met on the airship, but I'd rather forget that particular meeting. We aren't close like that." Of course they were just friends, what else could they be?

"Are you serious? You two totally click, you should ask her out," stated Neptune. "I mean, you don't _have_ to, but seriously, from what I've seen of your interactions and the anecdotes you two wouldn't be such a bad couple."

"Yeah, sure, she'd just be embarrassed of me…"

"Isn't that what I said about me and Weiss? I think she'd like to be with you."

Jaune went silent for a second. Ren had indeed said one of his closest friends might have romantic feelings for him, but he had thought it to have been just an example of how dense Jaune could be. Had Ren actually meant a specific person?

"Look, let's make a deal," offered Neptune, reaching out with a hand. "I ask Weiss, you ask Sapphire or whatever her name is. And this is a bro promise, you can't go back on a bro promise."

"I wouldn't go back on my word even if it were something stupid like wearing a dress," sighed Jaune, clasping his hand. "And here goes nothing."

/-/

"Ruby, you drank my punch." It was a statement, not a question.

"No I didn't."

"There's less than before, I checked."

"Yang did it!"

Jaune snorted and refilled his glass as Ruby panicked for a second. "Don't worry, it's fine."

The girl sighed in relief and sipped her glass, which had remained untouched since their last meeting due to her drinking from his own. Her gaze swept over the room, and finally focused on Neptune sitting beside Weiss and winking at her. No, not at her, at Jaune. She turned to question him, only to find him looking at the two as well. "Something happened?"

"Just had a talk with Neptune," shrugged the boy.

"Ohh, if Weiss knew… you've been her knight in shining armour!" giggled Ruby, earning an eye roll from him.

"More like dolt in Beacon uniform, honestly. Neptune just needed to say things aloud, realize how silly they were, and fix them. I barely did anything…" Neptune winked at him again as soon as Weiss wasn't looking, and Jaune cleared his throat, feeling the heat rise up his neck. "Uh… Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Say… I know the missions start soon after the dance, but would you… I don't know… accompany me to a weaponry shop in Vale?"

"Of course! You probably need to go for the new weapon we're making-" _'You are making,'_ Jaune mentally corrected her. _'I am basically just doing what you tell me to.'_ "-and if an expert comes with you it's even better!"

"Yeah… maybe we could even grab lunch there, so we don't have to go back to Beacon…"

"Great idea!"

Jaune stared at her.

Ruby hummed pensively as she thought what they could do at the weapon shop.

Jaune continued to stare.

Ruby continued to hum.

The boy finally let out a long, defeated sigh. "Ruby… I meant… as a date."

Ruby stopped humming, and looked at him, her face slowly blushing to match his own. "I… uh… a _d-date_? I-I mean… a _date-date_? I… uh…"

"W-Well, I…"

"Uh…. Yang!" She grabbed his arm and sped off, forcing him to follow her at _her_ speed. The two stopped by the blonde brawler, who looked kinda surprised to see her sister, and Jaune had to slap a hand over his mouth lest he vomited. Superspeed was a bitch when one wasn't used to it. "Yang! Jaune asked me out, what do I do!?"

Yang blinked, then shrugged. "Do you like him?"

"Yes!"

"Then say yes," replied the older girl.

Ruby turned to him. "Jaune, yes!"

Jaune stared at her, unable to believe what had just happened. "Okay… Yang, you're not gonna threaten me?"

Yang laughed. "Vomit Boy, I only threaten those who could hurt Ruby. You're harmless, and I'm not talking about combat. You're emotionally unable to hurt Ruby. Threatening you would be pointless."

Jaune nodded and turned to the overly-excited Ruby. "Okay… so, From Dust Till Dawn, tomorrow, I pick you up at eight?"

"Nine!" corrected Ruby. "Yay, I got my first date!"

Somewhere else in the ballroom, Ren rubbed his forehead, sighed, and suppressed the sudden impulse to facepalm. He just knew it, for some reason his leader had just done something no one had expected him to do.

Oh well, Jaune Arc was still Jaune Arc no matter how much advice he could get.

**_Heh, advice or not Jaune is Jaune._**

**_And Ruby doesn't seem like the type to know what to do if asked out._**

**_Now, why didn't Jaune wear that dress? Because the conversation with Pyrrha was sparkled by his moodiness over the fact Weiss rejected him. With both Yatsuhashi and Ren to 'cheer him up', he had no reason to be like that, so no talk, so no promise._**

**_Jaune's weapon isn't defined, that was just me noting stuff on his character._**

**_I hope you enjoyed this oneshot, I had fun writing it, though it was hard to title since... well... it's kinda hard to title._**

**_Until next time,_**

**_Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**

**_PS: I almost signed 'Khor Evil Vlakhavlakh', I guess it's fitting._**

**_PPS: next is A Rose Too Many._**


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